Israel Frees 342 Palestinian Prisoners but Tension Remains High

07/08/2003| IslamWeb

There have been scenes of jubilation in the West Bank and Gaza Strip as 342 Palestinians returned home from Israeli jails. But the limited prisoner release has done little to ease tensions between the two sides. Israel says the move is a 'goodwill' gesture, and more of the 6,000 Palestinians held in their jails will be going home soon. But Palestinians have dismissed it as a sham. They point out that 30 of the inmates were due for release anyway. Nearly half of the others were being held without trial. And many were accused of no more than stone-throwing. "There are several thousand heroes still in the occupiers' jails," Mohammed Abu Daher, 27, from Deir Al-Balah in central Gaza said, having served 27 months after being convicted of being a member of Hamas. "We cannot be completely happy if anyone is in an Israeli jail. It's a big trick from the Israeli occupation." But Israel says it has gone ahead with the release despite opposition from Israeli right-wingers. And it accuses the Palestinians of looking for excuses not to carry out their undertaking to crack down on armed groups. Palestinian frustration is such that Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas cancelled scheduled talks with his Israeli counterpart, Ariel Sharon. And militant groups, currently observing a ceasefire, say Israel is testing their patience. Among those Abbas wants freed as a matter of priority are women, children, the elderly and the sick. Many of them were detained during security sweeps and were supposed to be released under a previous deal. The current Road Map peace initiative calls for the implementation of that plan. Senior Hamas leader Abdelaziz Rantissi said the releases were a "drama" staged by Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon for the cameras. "It's a show for the media, a big trick. Sharon is showing bad faith," Rantissi said. "If Israel doesn't release all prisoners this will destroy the truce." Mohammed al-Hindi, political leader of Islamic Jihad, also dismissed the move as "a ploy and a trick". "We cannot participate in marketing this step. We asked the Palestinian Authority officials not to promote this trick." **Israeli Troops Arrest Palestinian Officers*** Israeli troops arrested 18 Palestinian security officers when they staged a rare incursion Wednesday into the sleepy Jordan valley town of Jericho, a local security official said. Munjib Zeidan, local commander of the Palestinian national security forces, said that 15 of those arrested were members of the Palestinian security and protection force and the other three worked for the intelligence services. "These men were simple officers. None of my men are wanted by Israel, these arrests do not make any sense," Zeidan said. **PHOTO CAPTION*** Released Palestinian prisoners making sajdatu-l-shukr (prostration of thankfulness) as they arrived in the West Bank after being released from an Israeli prison at the Tarqumia checkpoint on the way to the West Bank city of Hebron August 6, 2003. REUTERS/David Furst/Flash90 (ISRAEL OUT)